Love's Lost Refrain
by STOPREADINGMYTERRIBLEFANFICS
Summary: 2 years after Zidane's return from the Iifa tree, Garnet wonders whether or not she wants to continue with her mother's legacy, while Zidane wonders whether or not he wants to be King of Alexandria. In the meantime, evil returns to Gaia, and threatens to
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters __

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters. All lines from the play "I Want to Be Your Canary" were taken directly from the ending of Final Fantasy IX.

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 1

A normal day in Alexandria had begun. From morning to night, men, women and children of all races gathered round, and participated in the daily festivities. It had been 2 years since Zidane's triumphant escape from the Iifa tree, and Garnet was now queen of Alexandria. Zidane and Garnet were very close friends, but she always wanted something... more, out of their relationship. She wanted something more permanent.

Garnet sat in her room, staring out her window, as she always did, and dreamt. She dreamt of what life would be like with a certain amount of freedom. She wanted the freedom she barely tasted during her journeys with Zidane. Once again, she wanted to rid the crown, and live a life of her own. But deep inside, she knew she could not. She could not betray her mother like that. Garnet's position was permanent, and there was little she could do about it.

Beatrix entered the room.

"Princess- I am so sorry... I mean, Queen Garnet. What do you wish to wear to the annual Tantalus performance tonight?"

"Oh Beatrix..." Garnet said with a hint of a smile on her face. She turned in her chair to face in the direction of her. "It's been two years since the death of my mother, and my becoming queen. The least you could do is remember my title!" She chuckled.

"I am terribly sorry," Beatrix responded, she too with a smile on her face. "So, what shall it be? The formal white gown?"

Garnet sat in silence. She was in deep thought. But she slowly answered.

"Will Zidane be there?"

"Well," Beatrix started, "I would imagine so, I mean, he is still a member of Tantalus, is he not?"

Garnet smiled. "Well, yes... I can't wait to see him again. It's been a rough couple of years. After he met up with Kuja, and the Iifa tree caved in, I did not know what to think." She looked at Beatrix. "I... I was scared. Really scared! But then, he came back. And I was so happy. But... but now, he is gone again. He's been gone for nearly a year now, Beatrix. I can't wait to see him again."

Beatrix did not know what to say. She looked around the room, then answered her. "You two are really good friends, Garnet. You will always be with each other."

These words troubled Garnet. 

"Friends..."

Beatrix laid Garnet's gown on her bed.

"You may get dressed whenever you please. I'll be waiting outside."

Garnet was once again in deep thought. But as Beatrix placed her hand on the door handle, ready to leave her room, Garnet looked to her and said, "thank you, Beatrix."

Beatrix turned her head to Garnet, and nodded. She then left the room. Garnet turned back to the window and watched the doves fly by. 

"Oh Zidane... not a day goes by without my thinking of you. Please return safely."

"You ready!?"

Zidane was rudely awakened by the sound of Baku's booming voice. He had fallen asleep on the table in the basement of the theater ship.

"Wha-? Is it show time already...?"

"You bet, now wake up! A good thief never closes his eyes for a second!"

Zidane slowly stood up and rubbed his eyes. Just then, Blank walked in the room.

"So," he began, "what's it this time, boss? Kidnapping the queen? Stealing their treasure?"

Baku and Zidane stared at Blank with wide open eyes in bewilderment.

"I'm just joking!" Blank said. "Hey- after all that Garnet has done for me, I wouldn't dream of laying a finger on her."

Ruby now entered the room. "Yea, Garnet's a good girl... but she doesn't have the charm that I do, right Blank?"

"Shut up, Ruby!" He knew she was joking. "Have some respect for the little lady."

"Hey," Ruby said, "Zidane? Remember that time, about two years ago? When we did that play for Garnet? Boy- she didn't see you coming."

Blank joined in on the conversation. "Yeah, she thought you were as good as dead!"

Zidane stared at the ground, motionless.

"Zidane," Ruby continued, "that was very sweet of you. I'm sure that you miss Garnet now more than ever... and I'm sure that she misses you just as much, if not, more."

Blank interrupted, "Yeah, unless she fell for that Vivi character..."

Baku roared with laughter. "Ha ha ha...! Ho ho ho... Now c'mon guys! Let's get the show on the road! The good folks of Alexandria are expecting a great show! We can't perform if you're sleeping! Ha ha ha!"

Baku, Ruby and Blank left the basement. Zidane stood in solitude.

"Garnet..." he thought to himself. "I can't wait to see you again."

As the people of Alexandria shopped for potions, weapons and other goods, once again, they watched in awe as the theater ship soared overhead, almost close enough to touch. Little kids and adults alike ran to the ticket booth to get into the crowd that would be watching the performance. Garnet watched from her balcony with extreme impatience, as she longed for the moment when she could see Zidane. Just seeing him would be enough for her.

The ship was stationed near the castle as many watched from below. As night turned to day, the crowd grew larger. Then, a single fire cracker exploded in the sky. The crowd cheered loudly, and threw their hands high in the air. Garnet still sat in silence, as Beatrix and Steiner watched from behind her. Soon enough the entire sky was lit with fireworks, and music played, a glorious fanfare. The lights and music died down, and Baku stepped onto the stage, and started his well-known introduction.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he started. "Once again, tonight's performance is a story that takes place long, long ago. Our heroine, Princess Cornelia, is torn from her lover, Marcus. She attempts to flee the castle only to be captured by her father, King Leo. Tonight's story begins when Marcus and Cornelia decide to run away together. And now, Your Royal Majesty, Queen Garnet, Lord Steiner, Lady Beatrix, nobles and lords, and our rooftop viewers, Tantalus proudly presents 'I Want to Be Your Canary!'"

Before he had a chance to finish, the crowd's cheers grew in decibels. Everyone was too excited to keep quiet, and for the first time during these performances, Garnet had a smile on her face. Beatrix, noticing this, started to smile too, as did Steiner. The cheers died down, and the play began.

Ruby ran onto the stage, as Cornelia.

"Marcus?" A cloaked man clambered onto the stage. Ruby looked at him and responded. "Sweet Marcus, I fear I love thee more than I should!"

"Princess..." Marcus responded, "Wilt thou be happy, married to a lowly peasant such as I?"

"Prithee, call me 'princess' no more! Marcus, wilt thou truly cherish me, the king's only daughter? Or is such a desire too dear to wish for!? After our nuptials, shall I become no more than a puppet? A mindless puppet, never to laugh, never to cry? I wish to live my life under the sky. At times, I shall laugh, at other times cry. For no life is more insincere than that lived as a masquerade."

Marcus said, "So much consideration thou hast given it! But worry not!" He approached Ruby, and they embraced. "Cast away thy trappings of royalty, and I shall swaddle thou in a gown of pure love! Never again will I part from thee! Pray, my love, make me thy canary to keep forever in the cage of thy bosom! Let us embark on the first ship tomorrow, before dawn can tell of our elopement!"

During the play, Garnet could hardly pay attention. She was thinking of past times, when her mother would sit next to her during these performances. She tried not to cry, but instead, watched closely to the stage for when Zidane would enter onstage. And when he finally did enter the stage, he immediately saw Queen Garnet in the corner of his eye, trying to avoid her. But he could not hold out, so he looked at her, only to realize that she was looking at him. He forgot his lines, but was caught in the beauty of her face. 

"G-G...." He tried to whisper her name to himself as he saw the smile broaden on her face. Zidane noticed the complete silence over the audience, turned his head, and looked out. Everyone was staring at him. Being caught off guard, he shook his head, trying to clear it, and recited his lines.

"Fie!" he started. "It shall be war again unless this marriage is stopped! Ne'er will I let their plan come to fruitation!" He approached Ruby. "Good day to ye, Highness."

She responded, "Good day..."

"Wist thee of Marcus?"

"Marcus!?" she asked. "What news dost thou bring?"

"This!" replied Zidane as he punched her in the stomach. The crowed gasped. Cornelia grew limp as Garnet noticed a strange smile on his face as he looked at her. She tried to smile back, when the silent crowd heard Ruby, lying in Zidane's arms, speak silently.

"Z-Z.... Zidane..." she said. Baku was surprised, as her words were obviously not in the script. "Why... why did you hit me... so... hard...?"

Garnet took her eyes off Zidane and stared at Ruby in shock. Zidane quickly whipped his head around to look at Ruby, who was now coughing up blood.

"Wh-what?!" Zidane responded in surprise. "Oh my god! Ruby!?"

She continued to cough up blood as the Baku ran onto the stage. He was followed by Blank, Benero and Zenero. 

"Zidane!?" Blank yelled. "What the hell did you do to her!?"

"I-I..." Zidane began.

"Help!" Baku yelled. "We need aid!"

"Hold in there, Ruby..." Blank said, trying to comfort her.

Zidane continued to try and talk. "I... I didn't mean to...?" 

He looked back up at Garnet, who was standing on the edge of the balcony with her mouth wide open.

"Garnet...?" Zidane said, looking for some reassurance. But she ran through the doors of the castle. Zidane looked back at Ruby. Her head now lied in a pool of blood. The rest of the group surrounded her, trying to help Ruby.

Zidane was horrified.

"What have I done?"

__

To be continued...

  
  
  
  



	2. Voices From Beyond

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters __

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters. All lines from the play "I Want to Be Your Canary" were taken directly from the ending of Final Fantasy IX.

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 2

"Zidane!"

Garnet was running towards him as he stood motionless. She came to a sudden halt when she looked at Ruby and her blood stained face. Garnet covered her mouth with her hand in shock. Zidane looked up towards Garnet as she slowly backed away.

"I-I didn't mean to..." he said, desperate now. Steiner ran to the scene with Beatrix not too far behind. He grabbed a hold of Zidane, and restrained him. "Hey, what are you doing? Lemme go! Ruby! Ruby wake up!"

"What do you think you are doing!?" Steiner asked. "Why did you do that?"

"I don't know why I did it or where I got the power to do it!" Zidane yelled back.

Beatrix had come to Ruby's aid now, and tried to stop the bleeding, however the bleeding was internal, and not much could be done. 

"Take her in the back!" She ordered Baku. He picked her up gently and ran off stage. The crowd was now in chaos.

"Jeez, can't we have one normal production?" Cinna asked.

"Shut up," Blank answered.

Garnet quickly turned an ran back into the castle. Zidane chased after her.

"Garnet! Please come back!" Zidane pleaded. He let himself loose of Steiner's hold and ran after her. Steiner chased him into the castle. Zidane noticed Garnet crying on the staircase. "Garnet..." He approached her. But as he held his hand out to her she dodged it in defense.

"What are you doing!?" Garnet cried out.

"It was an accident! I, I didn't mean to!"

Steiner ran into the room. 

"Step away from her! I'm warning you!" he yelled.

"SHUT UP!" Zidane yelled at Steiner. "Garnet- you know me! Ruby is one of us! There is no way I'd do something like this on purpose."

Garnet was still weeping in the corner.

"Well," she started, "the least you could do is be by her side. She's probably very frightened."

Zidane stared at Garnet with wide open eyes, but then he realized what he had to do. He turned around and ran into the room where Beatrix was trying to save Ruby.

"Beatrix!?" he yelled looking for them. "Ruby!?"

"Over here!" he heard Blank yell.

Zidane approached the group, all huddled around Ruby. He walked very slowly, as he could not see her lying on the floor. He thought to himself, "_what happened? What did I do to her? Is she alive? Is she... dead? I don't have the kind of power to do something like this..._"

"Z...Zidane..." he heard a whisper. It was Ruby's voice. The group that was huddled around her opened so Zidane could see her face. It was all cleaned up, and blood loss had ceased.

"Ruby..." Zidane was relieved to see that she seemed okay. "How is she, Beatrix?"

"Well," she started, "thankfully the internal bleeding stopped. It's a miracle. I think she'll be okay.

"_Thank God!_" Zidane thought to himself. "Beatrix?" he began. "I'm really, very sorry."

"Well sorry doesn't cut it!" Blank yelled. "You put a fellow Tantalus member in danger! What's come over you?"

"I... I really don't know. I guess I just punched her... too hard."

"Well you got that right!" Baku roared.

"I guess we can just be thankful she'll be okay," Beatrix added.

"Yeah," Zidane said. Just then, Garnet walked into the room, her eyes bloodshot from her crying. She was escorted by Steiner.

"How is she?" she asked.

"She'll be fine," Zidane answered.

Garnet had a smile on her face. She looked at Zidane and made a motion with her head to come to the other room with her. They both exited, and she turned to him.

"Zidane," she started, "I'm sorry I was upset earlier, and crying. I just want to put this day behind me."

Zidane answered her, "I'm sorry I put you through so much. I was hoping that this production would be our finest yet, like a gift to you for all your faith in me, but once again, it was another abomination."

Garnet put a smile on her face. "_Another_ abomination? Heh..." He looked at her in bewilderment. "Zidane, that time me and Steiner interfered with your play... well, that was the best time of my life." Once again, he was in awe. "If it wasn't for that moment... I would have never met you."

Their eyes met each other, and the stared. They stared for what seemed like hours, but only lasted minutes. They both knew that this would be the start of something grand.

_____________________________

As days turned to weeks, Ruby was able to walk again. During one rainy night, she entered Zidane's room in the Prima Vista, which was still located in Alexandria. Zidane had just lied down to rest.

"Ruby!" he quickly sat up and ran towards her. "You can walk..."

"Better than ever!" she responded. There was dead silence for about five seconds. "Well...? Do you have anything to say?"

"Um, I already said that I was sorry about a hundred times..." he said. She handed him a paper.

"Recite this," She commanded.

"What is this, a joke?" Zidane asked, looking at the paper.

"Not in your life," she answered. "You put me through a lot of pain! It's the least you could do."

Zidane coughed and started to read the paper.

"O, love is the sweetest joy and the wildest woe. All I wish is to be by my..." she nodded, indicating him to continue. "...Is to be by my sweet Marcus' side..." Zidane had realized that these were the lines from the play, 'I Want to Be Your Canary.' "What the-"

"FIE!" Ruby interrupted. "It shall be war again unless this marriage is stopped. Ne'er will I let their plain come to fruitation." She turned to Zidane. "Good day to ye, Highness."

"Good day," Zidane responded, hesitant.

"Wist thee of Marcus?" she continued.

"Marcus... what news dost thou bring?..." Zidane tried to comprehend what she was doing. "Ruby- I really don't know what the point of this is, I-"

"This!" she screamed as she punched him in the stomach.

"Oof!" Zidane yelped as he fell to the floor. He looked up at Ruby. "What the hell was that for!?"

"Now you know how it feels!" she chuckled and walked away from his room. Just then, Dagger entered to see Zidane curled up in a ball on the floor.

"Did I miss something?" she asked.

"Nothing much." Zidane said as he tried to stand back on his feet. "So what brings you here?"

"I've come by to see you!" she answered happily.

"How did you sneak by ol' Rusty?"

"Hey," she answered, "I'm Queen of Alexandria now. I can do whatever I want! And besides, Steiner doesn't have the guts to stop me. I could just summon Ramuh!"

"Hey, I thought you pledged never to use your Eidiloins again?"

"Can't you take a joke?" They both started laughing.

"So..." Zidane began, "really, why are you here?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Zidane... I want to be with you."

"Well, we're together right now, aren't we?" he said with a smile.

"No..." she said, "I want to _be_ with you... forever..."

He stared at her once again. He didn't know what she was trying to say.

"You mean, you want to give up the throne?"

"I don't know... if that's what it takes..."

"But you can't, Garnet! It's your mother's legacy! You've sacrificed so much to be where you are today!"

She stared at the ground, searching for an answer.

"Then..." she began, "then marry me." The words shocked him. "Become king, Zidane! We won't have to go on journeys or risk our lives, but we will always have each other!"

"Garnet, think about what you're saying!"

"I am!" she was quick to respond. "When you went into the Iifa tree, I truly thought it would be the last time that I would see you. I spent so much time wondering what had happened to you. But when I finally saw you, at the play, I was so relieved... words can't describe my emotions. But then... then you left, again. I don't want you to leave anymore!"

Zidane was speechless. He did not know what to say.

"I.... I don't know what to say... I'm gonna have to think about it." He left his room, and she stood in solitude.

"Say you love me..." she whispered, knowing he could not hear her.

______________________________

Zidane walked out by the lake, and sat down in a canoe. He listened to the tine waves hit the side of the boat, and felt the boat sway from side to side.

"What am I gonna do?" he wondered. "Oh Garnet... where has the time gone? Why can't it just be you and me going on adventures again... you looked like you enjoyed it so much. The freedom, the independence... don't you want that?" He put his head between his knees and sat in deep thought, when he heard Blank's voice.

"Uhh... I don't think she can hear you."

Zidane looked up to see him, Benero, Zenero, Cinna and Baku staring down at him, all laughing. He put his head back down.

"Hey," Baku started, "I hear Ruby gave you quite the beating today! Ha ha ha! Ho ho ho!"

"Shut up, Baku." He responded.

"What's wrong, Zidane?" Cinna began. "Can't handle a woman? Did she take your manhood?" They all laughed again.

"Shut UP!... Cinna..."

"Aw, Zidane," Blank said. "Where's your sense of humor? Did she take that too?" They were all roaring with laughter.

"SHUT UP BLANK!" Zidane grabbed Blank by the neck and held it tight until his face turned red. 

"Hey!" They were all yelling. "Let go of him! What are you doing, Zidane?"

Zidane glanced over to the rest of the group, and threw Blank into a nearby tree. Blank held his hands by his neck, as he was desperately gasping for air.

"What the hell!?" Blank could barely yell.

Zidane walked away with no remorse, and as he passed Blank, he noticed an odd smile on his face. When Zidane left, Blank looked at the rest of the group, all of which were standing in awe of Zidane's actions.

"What's eating him?" Cinna questioned.

_______________________________

Zidane jumped back onto his bed.

"Oh God! What's come over me! Why am I doing these horrible things?!" 

Zidane heard a voice... a voice from nowhere.

__

"You are my puppet!"

"What!?" He looked around frantically, no one was at the door, or in the room. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

__

"I believe that is impossible. For as you should know, I am controlling your moves from another place... another world..."

"Another world?" Zidane thought the voice sounded eerily familiar. "Who are you?"

__

"Who I am is not important. It's who I am through you..."

"What are you talking about!?"

__

"Zidane... on that fateful day in the Iifa tree... you came back alive, and everyone thought I was dead... but what you failed to tell Queen Garnet was that you saved my life too..."

Zidane felt sick. "Oh... no..."

It was Kuja.

Zidane had hoped that this day would never come.

__

To Be Continued...


	3. Devious Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters __

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters.

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 3

Night had befallen Alexandria. Queen Garnet had fallen asleep in her bedroom, guarded by Lord Steiner. The Tantalus group, all but Zidane, had resided in a small pub in Alexandria. Everyone else was fast asleep. Almost everyone...

"Lemme through, Rusty!"

Steiner looked down, it was Zidane, who was desperate to get to Garnet. He laughed and said "it's LORD Adelbert Steiner to you, and besides, I would never let you pass while the Queen sleeps in her chamber."

"Just let me through! It's more important than you think!"

"Have you no respect for the citizens of the town, let alone the Queen? It's past midnight, people are trying to sleep! The least you could do is have a little resp-..."

"It's a matter of LIFE AND DEATH!" Zidane was hysterical. 

Just then, the door to the Queen's chamber slowly began to open. Garnet's head peeked through the door. As she rubbed her eyes, she looked at Zidane and asked "what's the matter?"

Zidane looked to Steiner, and then back at Garnet. He quickly passed Steiner, and jumped into Garnet's room, closing the door behind him.

"Garnet! I need to talk to you!"

"Zidane..." she chuckled. "It's past midnight. What could possibly be so important that you have to wake me so late? And not to mention the rest of Alexandria... you would think there was a war going on between you two, you're so loud!" She laughed again. She noticed the terribly serious face on Zidane, and her smile quickly turned to a solemn frown. "Zidane... w-what's wrong?"

"Garnet... it's... I was in my room, and I saw..." Zidane noticed Garnet's now very serious expression on her face, as she anxiously awaited for the rest of his statement.

"Yes?" she asked.

"...I saw Kuj-..." Just then Zidane had a sudden seizure, and he was at a loss of words.

"What did you see?" Garnet pleaded.

"I... I had a nightmare..."

"A... nightmare?"

"Yes..." he continued, "I dreamt that I lost you... I don't know how, but I know I lost you, forever." His voice was monotonous.

"Oh, Zidane... I'm here now! You have nothing to worry about. To tell you the truth, when you were gone over two years ago, and I thought that you were..." she choked on her words. "...Well, I had nightmares... nightmares of what may have happened to you. But the important thing is that we are together now. I suppose it's normal for these feelings, especially since we were separated for such a long time." Zidane was staring off into space. "...Zidane?" He whipped his head over to Garnet's.

"Yeah, you're right. It's normal... Listen, I'm sorry that I woke you so late. I'll just be going back to sleep now." Garnet looked at Zidane with curious eyes. "Good night, Queen."

"Good night,... Zidane."

He nodded his head, and then left the room.

" 'Night, Rusty!"

Steiner was quite upset now, "Why you little..." That's all Garnet heard before the door slammed shut.

Garnet noticed something very strange about Zidane that night.

____________________________

Zidane was walking along the river of Alexandria again. He could not comprehend why he could not say what he wanted to tell Garnet.

Then, he heard the voice again.

__

"That was pretty sneaky, Zidane."

"Kuja! What do you want from me!?" Zidane seemed to be talking to the skies.

__

"Well, first of all, I don't want you to pull another stunt like that again. Don't forget, Zidane, you're my puppet! I can have complete control over you if I wish to do so. So don't get me angry!"

"Kuja... I thought we had a deal."

__

"Oh, we had a deal, all right. I believe your exact words were: 'Kuja, I can try and save you, but you must promise never to hurt my friends ever again...' Zidane, you of all people should know that I'm a man that stays true to my words."

"You bastard..." Zidane was overwhelmed with anger. "What could you possibly want with any of us!? I saved your LIFE! WE saved your life!"

__

"Oh, and don't think that I'm not grateful!"

"Get to the point... take what you want and get OUT OF MY LIFE!"

__

"My my... very feisty. Actually, what I want is... Queen Garnet's pendant."

"Her... her pendant?" Zidane questioned. He had no idea what he would want with Garnet's pendant. "You can't take that... she cherishes it! She's had it for such a long time, and it means so much to her..."

_"Shut up."_ Zidane was quick to cease talking. _"Now now, calm down. It's not the sentimental value that means so much to me."_

"Then what do you want with it?"

__

"That's none of your business. You are now my slave, and if you don't do this for me, I will simply make you."

Hoping he would have time to discover the value of the pendant to Kuja, Zidane responded "Ok. I'll do it."

Although Zidane could not see Kuja anywhere, he knew that he was smiling. He knew that Kuja had an evil plot that would bring about ruin. And Zidane would do whatever he could to stop it.

_"Good,"_ Kuja responded. _"Now Zidane, the sooner you obtain the pendant, the better. And don't forget... I own you. Whatever you do, or fail to do, may result in your destruction. Or maybe even... the destruction of a loved one."_

Shivers shot up Zidane's spine. He knew that Kuja's spirit had left now, and what he really needed was to get some rest. However, as he lay in bed, he knew that there was no conceivable way that he would be able to sleep tonight.

___________________________________

"Wake up you bastard!" Zidane was knocked off of his bed by Blank. 

"What the hell!?" Zidane yelled, clambering onto his feet again. "I was already awake!"

"You're a real jerk, you know that? What was wrong with you last night!? You could've killed me! Why are you getting so aggressive lately? Was it not enough to see Ruby suffer?"

"I'm sorry! It's just that..."

"_And don't forget... I own you..."_

Zidane stood motionless as the words of Kuja from the night before flooded back to his memory.

He continued. "I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Stress? STRESS!? That's no excuse!" Blank stopped to listen to what he was saying, than began talking in a calmer tone. "Listen, Zidane. You are my friend. You are a friend to all of us. But we were all talking at the pub last night, and we've come to a decision." Zidane stared at Blank, in anticipation for what he would say next. "If you make another outburst like the one with Ruby, or the one last night, then... you're getting kicked out of Tantalus."

"What!? You can't do that! I'm as much a part of Tantalus as you are!"

"Listen, I realize that. But you put Ruby in mortal danger a few weeks ago. And last night wasn't too pleasant either. It's a side to you that we've never seen, and no one is particularly fond of it. So if you do something stupid again, you're out of the group."

Zidane wished that he could tell Blank of the real reasons of these outbursts, but he realized that if he did he would be putting Blank's life, or possibly his own, in lethal danger.

"I... I'm sorry, Blank. Trust me. It will never happen again."

Blank looked for reassurance in Zidane's eyes before responding, "Ok. Good. Let's hope it never happens again." And with that, he left.

"I gotta get a hold of myself... I can't become a puppet."

__________________________________

_"Marry me..."_

These were the words of Garnet the day before. Zidane was so confused. He knew that Garnet had wanted to stay with Zidane forever, but he didn't know at what cost. He decided to talk to her again.

Queen Garnet was sitting in her throne room, daydreaming, once again. She envied those birds... and Zidane. She too was confused. She didn't know if her mother's legacy was more important than the love of Zidane. And with the recent events, she became even more perplexed.

Zidane entered the room.

"Garnet, I need to talk to you."

"Zidane..." she interrupted. "I... I want to give up the throne. I'm serious. My life with you is more important than any other life I could dream of. I want to be free... like those birds outside." She ran to her window. "See those birds? I want to fly with them. Zidane, let me fly with them... let me fly... with you." He stared at her eyes, as she stared back. "Don't you have anything to say?" Zidane noticed the pendant that she was wearing. Garnet saw his eyes quickly become fixated on her chest, as he reached his hand out towards it. "What the!?" She slapped his hand and backed away. "You men are only after one thing! What a way to break the mood!" He shook his head in realization of what he was doing. "Did you hear a word that I said!?"

"Oh... I'm sorry Garnet. It's just that... um..." Her hands were clutching her chest. "...Could I possibly borrow your pendant?"

"Wh... what?" She was startled, and she looked down at the pendant she was wearing. Her face turned bright red. "Oh, I'm sorry. You see... I thought that you... you wanted..." He looked at her with a perplexed face. "Well, what I thought is not important. But why would you want my pendant?"

"Um, I just need to borrow it for a second. I..." He needed a lie quickly. "I need to show it to Ruby. She has a fetish with... pendants."

"She does? That's odd." She said as she took it off from around her neck. She held out her hand with the pendant and said, "Now I am going to get it back, right?"

"Of course. It won't take long." He snatched the pendant from her hand and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Zidane... please be careful with that. You know how much that pendant means to me, and you know that you are the only person that I would trust with it."

"Don't worry, I'll bring it back in one piece." 

He began to leave when Garnet yelled back to him "Hey! Um... you never responded to my decision."

Zidane looked back to her. "Garnet, just don't make any rash decisions. You never know what lies around the corner." He left her chamber.

These words troubled Garnet, as she felt an uneasiness in her stomach.

"Zidane, what's come over you?"

__________________________________

Zidane was reluctant to give the pendant to Kuja. He needed to find out what the pendant would be used for. So he brought the pendant to the Eidolon wall at Madain Sari. Zidane knew that Kuja had a strange obsession with Eidolons, so he needed to find answers here.

He walked into the enclosed area where murals of Shiva, Ifrit, Bahumut and many more Eidolons were immortalized. Zidane held up Garnet's pendant, and began to walk around the inside of the wall. He walked in circles, counterclockwise. He walked for hours, still holding the pendant up in front of him. As he walked, he closed his eyes as tight as possible, hoping that a message would be sent to him. Not receiving any information, he decided to stop. He put the pendant down, and opened his eyes. Zidane was now facing the wall, and to his surprise, a large mural was before him, something that wasn't there before. He backed away to see what it was, and when he realized what it was, he gasped and dropped to his knees. For what he saw, was the most power Eidolon to ever exist, and it resided in Garnet's pendant.

Knights of the Round.

With Garnet's pendant, Kuja planned on destroying Gaia.

__

To Be Continued...


	4. The Beginning of the End...?

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters. Keep in mind that this is a story in progress._

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 4

"Kni-Knights of the Round?" Zidane stumbled upon his words. "Why is Knights of the Round in Garnet's pendant? What does Kuja plan on doing?" Zidane began to tremble as he stared at the giant mural on the Eidolon wall. He had to communicate with Kuja, but he did not know how. "KUJA! I THOUGHT YOU CHANGED!"

__

"Oh, but I have." Not only could Zidane hear Kuja's voice, he could now see him, standing before him. "Hello, Zidane. Long time no see."

"Kuja... what do you want this pendant for!?"

"That's none of your business." He looked at the wall, noticing the mural of Knights of the Round. "But I see that you already know my purpose for obtaining the pendant."

"Do you plan on destroying Gaia?"

"What if I said... yes?" He looked straight at Zidane's with his razor sharp eyes.

"Then you would be a fool. You don't know what I gave you! I saved you! Don't you understand? I gave you a second chance! A chance to make things right again!"

"I know!" Kuja yelled. "And what's best for the world, is if it didn't exist!"

"But WHY!? What possible reason could you possibly have for destroying the world!?"

"To put it out of it's misery." Zidane was now confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh Zidane... the world is a cruel place. But I only learned that after you saved me. We are ruled by betrayal, hatred, and war! What reason could anyone have for living?"

Zidane interrupted, "Well we NORMAL folk don't like to dwell on 'hatred' and 'war' and 'betrayal,' we learn to love and cherish our moments with each other! That's what I hoped you'd learn after I saved you!"

"Who said I wanted to be saved!?" He screamed to Zidane. Zidane could not believe what he was hearing. "And besides," he continued, "Where do you go off saying that you are part of the 'normal folk?' You know, Zidane, you and I are very much alike." Zidane stared at Kuja, just as he stared back at him. He didn't want to believe that he was saying this, after he had tried so hard to forget his troublesome past. "Now," Kuja began, "give me the pendant."

Zidane looked at the pendant, remembering Garnet's words about how much the pendant meant to her.

"No." Zidane said in a quiet, solemn voice. "I can't let you have it. I won't let you destroy the world!"

"Oh, Zidane... Zidane... you will regret this." He started to fade. "Don't forget that you are my puppet... I control you." He disappeared.

"I DON'T CARE! I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS!" Zidane ran off back to the airship, where he headed to Alexandria to warn her of Kuja's intentions.

__________________________

"Garnet! Queen Garnet!" Zidane was hysterical as he clutched her pendant in his hand and ran to Garnet's chamber. He ran into her room, but she was not there. "Garnet? Where are you!?" He looked by her bed, by the closet, but she was not there. "Oh no..." he thought. He left the room, yelling her name. "Garnet! Where are you!?" He ran downstairs and into the armory. "Garnet?" not there. He ran into the kitchen. "Garnet!?" not there, either. "Oh god..." He now expected the worse, but there was one place that he hadn't checked yet. He ran outside. And as he approached a set of stairs, he spotted Garnet. She was lying by her mother's grave. He slowly walked up the steps. "Garnet...?" Silence. He walked closer to her. "Garnet?" She was motionless. "Garnet, wake up..."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, Zidane." He was very relieved. He hugged her. "Zidane? What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." He still clutched the pendant in her hand.

"My pendant! I knew I could trust you." She reached her hand out for it.

"No, wait." Her eyes met his with a look of question. "There's something you should know about this pendant.

"What is it?" she asked innocently.

"It..." he remembered last time he tried to tell Garnet of Kuja, and couldn't. The consequences were too high. But now he didn't care. "It contains a very important Eidolon."

"Knights of the Round."

He was shocked that she knew this.

"What?"

"Knights of the Round. I know, Zidane."

"Why didn't you tell me? Do you understand just how powerful it is?"

"Zidane, I understand everything about it. That's one of the reasons it's so important to me."

"Garnet... that Eidolon is capable of destroying Gaia."

"I know, Zidane!" she hesitated for a moment. She never thought she'd have to tell anyone this, but now the time had come. "I've done my research. I'm about to tell you something that I never told anyone else before." She sat Zidane down, and began to talk. "Zidane, this pendant carries the anguish that I've endured over the past few years. I have suffered a lot, and I don't know why, but my pendant understands that. My fear, anguish and hatred has been stored up inside. And between the death of my mother, my learning about my heritage, and..." she hesitated once again, "and my separation from you... I have survived all of this. I didn't know how powerful my anger could be, and it comes out in the form of an Eidolon. That Eidolon is Knight's of the Round. I've heard of this Eidolon before. And legend has it, that there are 13 spots along the equator of Gaia that are sort of like the 'Achilles heal' of the planet. If anyone was to get a hold of my pendant, these 13 Knights would be set loose, and would attack these points simultaneously, and the planet would be destroyed. That's why you're the only one I can trust with this pendant, and why I can't let anyone else have it." She stood in silence.

"Garnet..." Zidane was awestruck by how much she had just told him. "Garnet, I want you to take this pendant, and put it in the safest place in Alexandria."

"Why?"

Zidane decided that it was time that she learned of his encounters.

"It's Kuja. He's come back." She grabbed the pendant and grasped it tightly.

"What? I thought he was destroyed with the Iifa tree?"

Zidane felt yet another sudden jolt in his body.

"Me too... Garnet... I don't know what happened." 

"Zidane? Are you feeling all right?"

He took the pendant back from her, than whipped his head around.

"I'm sorry." He seemed to be back to his senses. "Say... Garnet."

"Hm?"

"Why were you... lying by your mother's grave earlier?"

"Oh, I was just thinking... about her. You know, even though she tried to do so many evil things to me, I could still find it in my heart to forgive her."

"Yeah, that's what makes you so special..."

"I guess I was there just thinking... thinking about her legacy. And what I wanted out of life."

"Garnet, no one is forcing you to do anything."

"I know, but I want to be with you."

"Me too." Zidane replied. He had just realized that he had felt the same panic that Garnet felt when he could not find her earlier. He could understand what it is like to think that you have lost a loved one. He hated it, and he never wanted Garnet to experience it again. He gave the pendant back to Garnet, and walked away.

_______________________________

Zidane walked back to the Prima Vista ship, and went to his room. He laid down on his bed and went into deep thought. He realized that when he held her pendant in his hand, Kuja was not able to stop him from telling Garnet about the dangers of the pendant. But when he gave it back, he was not able to tell her that Kuja was still alive. Maybe the pendant had more powers than he thought. But maybe it was better this way... maybe she shouldn't know about Kuja until he settled the score once and for all.

He then began to think about his future with Garnet. Marry her? Zidane did not want to be the person to rid Garnet of her future as Queen of Alexandria. Doing that would mean betraying her own mother. Would becoming King be as bad as it sounded? Doing so would mean saying good-bye to Tantalus. But it was what Garnet wanted. After a long thought process, he decided this is what he would do.

"I'm gonna be King of Alexandria."

________________________________

"KING OF ALEXANDRIA!? Are you nuts, Zidane!?" Baku was giving him a sever scolding.

"It's what Garnet wants." Zidane replied.

"Whatever! What's more important!? The life of a stuck up, snot nosed King, or a carefree life with US!?" Ruby yelled.

"Hey, listen, guys. You're not making this any easier. And besides, what right do you have to make me decide between my friends and my, um, girlfriend?"

"Since when was she your girlfriend? You two hardly see each other anymore!" Blank said.

"Well maybe if we stayed in one place for more than a week-..."

"Oh so now you're putting down Tantalus?" Ruby said. "You have freedom here! We don't judge you!"

"Well I love Garnet, and there's nothing you can do to stop me from marrying her!"

They all sat in silence.

Baku began. "Well, have you ever thought about letting her join Tantalus? She aint a bad fighter, we could use a woman like her."

"That's just your testosterone talking," Ruby said.

"No, I'm serious! Even I know that Garnet always loved the freedom of a Tantalus member. Maybe she'd enjoy it!"

"Baku, I don't want her to give up the throne to live a life of thievery and fighting," Zidane said.

"But with Tantalus comes a life of freedom and informality. Garnet's one wish was to live a life of freedom, was it not?"

Zidane was stumped.

"Guys..." he started, "I'd really like to be alone now... to think."

They sat still, than one by one they left. As Baku left, he turned to Zidane and said:

"Don't do something you'll regret."

And with that he closed the door behind him.

"Garnet... what should I do?" he thought to himself.

Zidane then heard Kuja's voice again.

__

"Well I'd go find her and talk to her right now. Like I said, you'd regret not giving me her pendant."

Zidane's eyes grew wide, than he shot up and dashed out of the Prima Vista, in search for Garnet.

The first place that he ran to was her chamber. He heard a sound in there, so he threw open the doors yelling "Garnet! It's Kuja!" But when he got inside, Beatrix was standing there.

She questioned him. "What about Kuja?"

____________________________

Garnet resided by the river outside of the castle. She too was thinking about the future of her and Zidane. She had just finished hiding her pendant when she heard a voice.

__

"Queen Garnet. Remember me?"

"It's... Oh god... Kuja..."

__

"That's right..."

"What do you want?"

__

"Well I've come to tell you that your friends life is in danger... maybe you should go look for him..."

She sat for a second, then got up and ran for the Prima Vista, praying that Zidane would be all right.

"Zidane! Zidane! Where are you!?" she ran around desperately searching for him. She saw the Tantalus group sitting down. "Have any of you seen Zidane?"

Ruby responded, "Well last I heard he went to search for you."

__

The chamber... she thought.

"Thank you!" And she ran off.

"Did something happen to Zidane?" Blank wondered. When no one responded he got up and followed her.

_____________________________

Garnet ran back to the castle straight to her chamber. She threw the doors open and saw Zidane standing before her. She threw herself into his arms and cried.

"Oh Zidane! I heard Kuja! He... he said to look for you! I thought he was dead!" she was sobbing. "I thought he killed you! Oh I don't know what's going on!" her vision became blurry with the tears. She stopped crying. "Zidane? Aren't you worried?" 

She backed away and noticed blood on her outfit from where Zidane touched her. She looked up at Zidane's hand and saw blood on them. She immediately looked behind him, and saw Beatrix laying on her bed, with a stab wound on her abdomen. Next to her lay a bloodied dagger. Blood had covered the bed where she lay.

Garnet was now hysterical. "Z-Z-Zidane? D-Did you... do this?" He had an evil smile on his face. "Z-Zidane?"

He grabbed her and pulled out a Dagger. He held the dagger tightly to her neck.

"Where's the pendant!?"

"Zidane... W-what are you doing?

"Tell me... where is it... GIVE IT TO ME!"

"Y-You told m-me to h-hide it!" She began crying again. "Zidane... please don't kill me... PLEASE!"

"TELL ME NOW OR YOU'RE DEAD!" He held the dagger closer to her neck.

"I-It's... It's by the grave..." She was still crying. Zidane held her tight. She felt blood trickling down her neck. Zidane then dropped the dagger, and let go of Garnet. She turned around to face Zidane.

"Garnet... I-I'm sorry!" She held her hands to her neck, but realized that the wound was not life-threatening. "I was possessed... by Kuja..."

"Oh Zidane!" she advanced toward him to hug him when she paused. Her mouth fell open and her eyes shut.

"Garnet? What's wrong?"

"Z..." Blood poured out of her mouth. She fell to the ground to reveal a murderer.

It was Blank.

__

To Be Continued...


	5. Monochrome Memories

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters. Keep in mind that this is a story in progress._

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 5

Blank stood in front of Garnet's lifeless body holding a bloodied Dagger. He stared at her body, as did Zidane. Zidane looked up at Blank, shocked at what he did. 

"Blank... how could you?" Blank raised his head to reveal an evil grin on his face. "Kuja... you did this."

"That's right," Blank said. Kuja was speaking through his body. "And now that I know where the pendant is, I won't be needing this pitiful body anymore." Blank raised the dagger and held it facing his abdomen, about to commit suicide.

"NO! You can't do this to Blank!" he dived for the dagger and knocked Blank over.

"Get off of me!"

"You said," Zidane started, wrestling for the dagger. "You said that... you were... a man of you're word! Why did you do this... to Garnet and Beatrix!?" He grabbed the dagger from Blank and pushed him away. Blank stood up, and Kuja began talking through him again.

"Well, I suppose I don't need another sacrifice now, you're all going to die soon anyway!" And with that, Kuja's spirit left Blank's body as he fell to the ground. Zidane rushed to the aid of Garnet as Blank tried to get a sense of what he was doing.

"Wh-where am I?" he asked. He noticed Beatrix laying on the bed, then Garnet, on the ground. Blank looked at his hands, noticing the blood that covered them. "Zidane... Beatrix and Garnet... did I do this?"

"No," Zidane answered firmly. "Kuja did this." Zidane stared at Garnet's inanimate body. He did not want to believe what happened.

"Is she... dead?" Blank asked curiously.

Zidane felt her neck for a pulse.

"Nothing," he said. He looked at the dagger that Blank had used on Garnet. What she had admired so much was what had done this to her. His vision became blurry as he slowly picked up Garnet's head. He brushed his hand through her hair. "Garnet... I don't want to say goodbye... I don't want to let you go... not now... not this way..." He held her body and removed his hand from underneath her head. It dropped back like a rag doll. A lifeless... puppet. "No.... NO!" He embraced her body and cried on her shoulder. He cried like he never cried before. "No! I don't want you to die!" Blank was sitting on the ground, staring downward. Zidane continued to sob when Steiner barged in.

"What is the meaning of- Princess!?" he ran over to her. "What did you do!?" He saw Beatrix out of the corner of his eye. "General!" He ran over to her. "Is... is this some kind of joke!?" He felt for a pulse, but there was also nothing. "She... she's dead? No!" He turned to Zidane. "Is... is she dead too?"

Zidane did not pause to answer his question, but the look in Blank's eyes confirmed his worst fears. Blank stood up and exited through the door. Zidane was still holding Garnet tightly in his arms, as Steiner kneeled next to the bed in which Beatrix laid. He was not emotional, but the thought of Beatrix leaving his life terrified him.

Zidane then slowly lifted his head from Garnet's shoulder.

"Th-th-that bastard..." he whispered. Steiner turned his head around.

"Who?" he asked quietly.

"Kuja... he did this."

"You mean to tell me... that Kuja... is... alive?"

Zidane nodded his head.

He then placed one hand under Garnet's legs and the other hand beneath her head. He slowly stood up with her in his hands and walked over to the bed. He walked slowly... it was a walk that seemed to take forever. As he walked, he realized that he had never felt this close to Garnet in his life, even if her soul had left her body. As he walked, he began to reminisce on the first time he met her.

__

"Do you... do you work on this theater ship?"

("Aww... So she figured it out, huh?")

"As you have no doubt suspected... the truth is that... I am actually..." she hesitated as she removed the hood from her head, "Princess Garnet Til Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria. I have a favor I wish to ask of you... I wish to be kidnapped... right away." 

As he walked, he was preparing himself to say goodbye. He placed her body next to Beatrix and kissed her on the forehead.

"...I can't let him get away. I won't let him destroy Gaia! He won't get away. Kuja, you've broken many promises, but this is BEYOND the limit!" He stormed out of the room. Steiner continued to stare at Beatrix.

"I thought... we had a future together..."

______________________________

Zidane ran back to the airship where the rest of Tantalus resided. Ruby approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Blank told me everything... I'm really sorry, Zidane."

"Don't be sorry. Kuja did this, and I'm not gonna let him get away with it, either! I'm not gonna say goodbye to Garnet until the world is safe! And I have complete confidence in myself! I'm gonna get him..."

"Where is he?" asked Baku.

Zidane paused for a moment.

"I don't know."

Everyone let out a sigh of distress.

"Wait!" Zidane said. "Let me think.

__

"You are my puppet!"

"What!?" He looked around frantically, no one was at the door, or in the room. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"I believe that is impossible. For as you should know, I am controlling your moves from another place... another world..."

"Another world! There's only one place that he could be." They all looked at him with eyes of bewilderment. "The crystal world!"

Baku interuppted. "Yeah, but Zidane, the Iifa tree doesn't exist anymore. How are we going to get to the crystal world?"

"Just because the Iifa tree is gone doesn't mean that the wormhole is no longer there!" They still continued to stare at him. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?" 

Baku decided to break the silence. "To the Iifa tree! Or, maybe... where it used to be... yeah!" Everyone's heads turned to Baku, as they stared at him in silence. 

"Let's go." Zidane said. 

_____________________________

They put the Prima Vista into full gear (which wasn't that fast but that's beside the point), and headed towards where the Iifa tree used to be.

On the way there, Zidane remembered that Kuja had taken the pendant that Garnet had hidden by her mother's grave. Soon after he remembered this, he saw a knight riding a horse approach them. It was the first of the 13 Knight's of the Round. Kuja did not waste any time trying to destroy the planet. The knight continued to approach the ship when Zidane yelled to Blank.

"Turn the ship! We're gonna get hit!"

Without question, Blank turned the wheel as far to the right as possible. Slowly, the ship moved out of the way of the knight. It continued to get closer and closer, and as it passed the ship, it banged it hard on it's side. The ship tilted to one side as Zidane lost control of his balance and fell over. Zidane realized that the knight was not after him, but it was headed toward the equator, where the earth would be destroyed. He saw in the distance more knights riding horses through the sky. He had very limited time.

They had finally reached the place where the Iifa tree once existed. To Zidane's surprise, there was nothing. No loop hole... nothing. He sat on the floor and sighed, very depressed.

"Listen," Blank said. "I'm sorry." 

Zidane looked up at him and said, "there must be another way! I'm sure of it!" He ran to the deck and looked out to the wide open area. Roots spread on the continent, and traveled miles underground. But besides that, there was nothing. But he continued to stare out to the sky. He focused his vision in that area, determined to find another wormhole.

He saw a sudden burst of electricity. It only lasted a millisecond, but that was where they had to be.

"Over there, Blank!" he pointed to the direction, and Blank steered the wheel to the left. The ship slowly turned. They approached the area and Blank slowed the ship down as much as possible. There was another bolt of electricity. This time, it hit the ship. Zidane felt a jolt in his body, as his surroundings grew brighter and brighter. He felt his weight lighten, and noticed his feet were rising from the ground. Zidane was now floating in the pink sky, and flew up and up, all the way to the crystal world.

_______________________________

The crystal world was just as he remembered it. It was a place where all of his and Garnet's memories stayed. He approached a bridge and looked below. He expected to see a little girl and a woman floating on a tiny boat. He did see this, only this time, they were black and white. He walked around, hoping to reach Kuja soon and noticed that all of Garnet's memories were in black and white.

"Garnet's memories are fading..." he thought to himself. "Does this mean there's time?"

He continued to walk. But now, there were new memories of Garnet. He saw the Alexandria castle to his right. He saw himself, throwing off a black robe, and Garnet leaning over her balcony.

"This was the day we reunited after my encounter with Kuja at the Iifa tree..."

Garnet ran down the stairs of the castle, ran towards him and jumped into his arms. Something struck Zidane oddly that he didn't really notice before. Before she embraced him, she threw off her crown.

"Garnet... you always hated the formalities..."

He continued to walk when he saw another memory. This one disturbed him deeply. Garnet stood in front of Zidane, in this memory, with blood on her neck. She was scared and frightened. Then her eyes grew wide, and her mouth dropped. This was her memory of her death. 

"Z..." she started to say his name. Then the vision went black. This indicated her death.

"NO!" Zidane exclaimed, and continued to run forward. "I won't let her memories cease to exist! I will find Kuja!" Zidane noticed that he was now running in space... seemingly endless. He saw a white light, and approached it. The next thing he knew, he was in a more colorful place. That's when he ran into his worst enemy.

Kuja floated in front of Zidane, holding Garnet's pendant in his hand.

__

To Be Continued...


	6. Melodies of Life

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters._

****

Love's Lost Refrain

PART 6

"Zidane. You are a liar."

"Shut up!" Zidane was shaking. As he stood before Kuja, his entire body trembled. This was it. He would settle the score with Kuja once and for all. "You said you wouldn't hurt my friends..."

"But you are a LIAR!" He threw his hand in the direction of Zidane and he fell back with incredible force. "Zidane... don't forget. You were the one that spilled the beans! You told Beatrix. You told Garnet to hide the pendant! It's the least I could do in return."

Zidane tried to get back on his feet gasping for air. "Kuja... why do you hurt people? Why did you kill Beatrix and Garnet!? WHY!?"

"Zidane... it was bound to happen. Fate chooses these things. It couldn't be helped."

"It could to! I could've left you to DIE in the Iifa tree! I gave you a second chance! You lived because of ME!"

"All fate... Zidane."

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP! Fate has nothing to do with ANYTHING!" Zidane was shaking harder than ever. As no one said a word, Zidane could hear faint screams far away. "We decide our own fate. Fate is not pre-written! What is wrong with you!?"

"Zidane... I would stop now, if I were you, and cherish your last moments on Gaia." Kuja threw his hand to his left, and a large image appeared. There were 13 knights with spears floating along the equator of Gaia, anxiously awaiting Kuja's command. "One word, Zidane. That's all it takes. One word, and say goodbye to Gaia. Say goodbye to Garnet forever, say goodbye to Tantalus. Say goodbye to all of your friends."

"Yeah, but without that pendant, you are worthless. You focus all of your power on material objects!"

"DON'T PUSH ME OVER THE EDGE... Zidane... Right now... I... AM... GOD..."

"You are a coward." Zidane's voice trembled. He didn't have a plan. He didn't know what he was doing. He just knew he had to defeat Kuja... for Garnet. "You are a COWARD!"

"Oooh, such harsh words from a little boy. What are you going to do? Stab me with a puny dagger? So what if I focus my power on material objects? I'm still more powerful than you."

Zidane now knew what he had to do. He had to get that pendant that has caused so much pain all across Gaia. He had to stop this madness.

"I'm your worst enemy, am I not?" Zidane asked him.

"My worst enemy," Kuja started, "...is life. What is a life filled with sorrow? Anger and hatred? But I must say that you are quite the pill."

"You've killed Garnet, Beatrix, Queen Brahne... why haven't you killed me?" Zidane had finally found the courage to confront Kuja with these words.

"Oh... why haven't I killed you... I suppose, that there is something worse than death. Witnessing death. Watching all your friends die is more painful than death itself." He thought about it for a while. "But I suppose that you have nothing left to live for, now that you lost your most precious possession." He gave Zidane an evil grin. I suppose that it's now your turn, is it not?" Zidane began to breath heavily. He had waited for this moment for what seemed like years, but only lasted days. "But I suppose that you want a fair, one on one battle, right?" He threw the pendant to the ground, and he stepped down, facing Zidane. "TRANCE!" A magenta light surrounded Kuja. His hair went from silver to blood red, as did the rest of his body. He walked towards Zidane. He dragged out a long sword. "We test our physical skills." Zidane took out two of his daggers. "Please don't insult me." He threw him a sword. They both got into battle position. Kuja's sharp eyes pierced through Zidane's soul, as they both stared at each other. "FIGHT!"

Kuja leaped towards Zidane with his sword over his head. Zidane blocked the sword with his, holding his horizontally. Kuja leaped to the side. 

"You're pathetic!" Kuja screamed.

"You aren't so great yourself!!"

Zidane ran towards him, screaming, holding his sword with both hands. It seemed as if he was running faster than the speed of light. He lunged the sword forward towards Kuja, as he jumped out of the way. 

"Surely you have more skill than that!" Kuja said.

He tried to stab Zidane in the back but he ducked. Kuja was swinging his sword horizontally, swinging and swinging and swinging. Zidane was miraculously able to dodge each one. Kuja could not take this anymore. He ran over to the pendant and snatched it.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Zidane yelled at him.

"Let's just get this over with!" Kuja held the pendant in front of his face and closed his eyes. The 

next thing that Zidane knew, he was holding his sword in front of him, facing towards his abdomen.

"Kuja... what are you doing?"

"Suicide is a terrible thing. Too bad that you will be my first suicide victim!" He turned to the image of the Knights of the Round. "DESTROY!" The 13 knights drew their swords into the earth, ever so slowly, one by one. Zidane had to stop them before Gaia ceased to exist. "Goodbye... Zidane!" Zidane lunged the sword towards himself. He closed his eyes and prepared for death. But at the sword approached his body at lightening speed, he remembered Garnet's memories, slowly fading. 

With a jolt of power, Zidane opened his eyes and dropped his sword, millimeters away from his body. Kuja opened his eyes as well.

"What?" He dropped the pendant, along with his sword, and lost his concentration. Zidane picked up his sword and ran for Kuja, faster, faster faster! He closed his eyes until he came to a screeching halt. He felt a warm substance splatter on his face. He opened his eyes to realize that his sword had pierced Kuja's body. Kuja looked down at the sword, than back at Zidane. With the sword still in his body, Zidane decided he wanted to teach Kuja a lesson.

"I gave you a second chance. A chance to realize that life is not about the anger. A chance to experience what it's like to live a normal human life! I gave you a chance to love, not to hate! To cry, not to scream! To embrace! Not to KILL!"

Kuja looked back at Zidane. He drew the sword out of his body, and watched Kuja slowly fall to the ground. THUMP! The sound echoed for miles. After a moment of pure silence, Zidane slowly walked over to Kuja.

"Zidane... You... you're right. I-I took life for... granted... I always wanted to be... human... But I was always shunned from doing so... I used to b-be innocent... believe it or not... but the world could not a-accept me... I wanted... revenge... I wanted... to destroy... Gaia..." Blood spewed from his mouth.

"Kuja... there will be no second chance now... You've done your share of evil deeds, and now you're about to destroy the world. I'm sorry, but there's nothing that I can do now." Zidane kneeled beside Kuja.

"B-but there is a second chance! Zidane... I don't want... you... to suffer... anymore than you have... I suppose that... this is what y-you call... coming to your senses?" He smiled. "Kuja... I will... give you back... Garnet's memories." Those were his last words. Kuja's eyes closed, and his body grew lifeless. Zidane felt a special bond with Kuja, but he knew his time had come. Zidane stood up. A ray of light emerged from Kuja's body. His body began to transform before Zidane's eyes. His body elevated from the ground and he was lifted high into the sky. His skin turned a golden yellow color, and he exploded into the shape of a bird. This giant bird spread its wings for yards in both directions. Gold sparkles flew from its wings and scattered all over the Crystal world, and into Gaia. The bird let out a cry, and slowly faded away.

Zidane noticed the image in the sky. The knights were still digging their spears into the ground.

"Holy shit!" Zidane exclaimed. The place began to shake, Gaia was about to be destroyed. He ran over to Garnet's pendant and picked it up in his hand. He held the pendant towards the image, as the knights were slowly sucked back into the pendant. A bright white light was constantly shining in Zidane's eyes. He shut his eyes, and waited. Then, silence... He opened his eyes, and realized that he was in Alexandria.

____________________________

Zidane was in Garnet's chamber. He looked over at the bed. Garnet was still laying there, lifeless. He walked over to her.

"Garnet... I did it." He stared at her. She had no life. "Kuja is no more." Once again, his vision became blurry and he laid himself down next to her body, hugged her, and closed his eyes.

With his eyes shut, darkness was all he could see. But he felt a bright light radiating before him. He opened his eyes as he saw a gold sparkle float around Garnet's lifeless body. The sparkle descended towards her body, and went into the open wound Blank (or Kuja) made with his dagger. A bright light flashed in the room, and her wound was gone. Zidane looked into her shut eyes. He saw a twitch.

"Garnet!?" He stopped breathing so there would be total silence. Then, he heard air escape from her mouth. "Garnet!" Her eyes slowly opened. As her vision came into focus, the first thing she saw was Zidane's watery eyes. 

"Z-Zidane?" She was finally able to finish saying his name. 

"Y-you're alive!?"

She sat up and looked at her hands. She was totally clean.

"Zidane!" She embraced him and squeezed him tightly. She began to cry. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she held him.

"Garnet! Oh, you're alive! You're alive!" They both were crying now. 

She pulled her head away from his shoulder and looked over at Beatrix. "But what about-?"

Just then, another golden sparkle entered the room, and found it's way to Beatrix's body. He wound had disappeared as well. She sat up.

"Wh-what happened?" She was perplexed. Steiner barged into the room.

"Beatrix!"

She jumped to her feet and ran to Steiner. She jumped in his arms, and they too began to cry.

"Beatrix!... I don't know what happened, but all that matters is that you are alive!"

"Oh Steiner... I love you!"

Garnet began to smile, then she turned her head to Zidane.

"What happened to Kuja?"

Zidane looked at her with worried eyes. "He saved your life."

Garnet looked into his eyes, then hugged him again. She wanted this moment to last forever.

______________________________

Zidane and Garnet took a walk along the Alexandria river.

"Garnet..." he started. "I have something for you." He showed her the pendant.

"Oh- Zidane!" She looked at it, than took it from him. "I think we both know what to do with this." She grasped the pendant tightly against her body. She turned to the river, and threw it as far as she could. They both watched it in the setting sun. It rose to the sky, then fell. And with a splash in the water, they both knew that they would never see it again. And that made them feel a million times better. "This is what's best for Gaia."

Zidane stared out to the river. He then turned to Garnet.

"Garnet. I've decided, that I would like to become King." He almost choked on his words. "It might be nice, giving commands, um, watching plays..."

"Save your breath." Garnet interrupted. "Zidane, I have something to tell you." He waited anxiously. "I've given up the throne." He let out a huge smile. "Steiner and Beatrix are the new King and Queen of Alexandria. The ceremony is tonight." She paused, and smiled. "My mother would've wanted this," She said as looked out to the orange sun. She turned back to Zidane. "I'm now a member of Tantalus."

He chuckled. "I love you... Garnet."

"And I love you, Zidane. But... call me... Dagger."

He smiled, and they both turned, and walked down the Alexandria river. Deep inside he could feel her memories coming into true color. Zidane knew that Garnet would have many more memories to be stored away as they would journey together... forever.

_Thank you, Kuja..._

THE END


	7. ENCYCLOPEDIA

"She could not betray her mother like that

_Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy IX or any of the characters_. **The following is not part of the story, rather an encyclopedia of terms so that people not familiar with the Final Fantasy series may better understand it.**

Love's Lost Refrain

ENCYCLOPEDIA

****

Confusing Quotes?

The following quotes from "LOVE'S LOST REFRAIN" explain the background of Final Fantasy IX, and other events some people may not understand.

___

__

"She could not betray her mother like that."

Garnet's mother, Queen Branhe, was killed when Kuja summoned Bahumut to destroy her ship.

___

__

"What do you wish to wear to the annual Tantalus performance tonight?"

Twice in Final Fantasy IX, Tantalus performed "I Want To Be Your Canary," a popular play in Gaia.

___

__

"The least you could do is remember my title!" 

After her mother's death, Garnet became Queen of Alexandria.

___

__

"After he met up with Kuja, and the Iifa tree caved in, I did not know what to think." 

At the end of Final Fantasy IX, Zidane went into the Iifa tree in search of Kuja, leaving Garnet behind. After the tree caved in, she thought he had died, but he returned "Some time later."

___

__

"What's it this time, boss?"

Baku is the head of Tantalus.

___

__

"Remember that time, about two years ago? When we did that play for Garnet? Boy- she didn't see you coming."

After the Iifa tree caved in and Garnet thought Zidane had died, he surprised her during a performance of "I Want To Be Your Canary" when he dressed up as the fully-robed Marcus, only to reveal his true identity (Zidane) in the middle of the performance to Garnet.

___

__

"Unless she fell for that Vivi character..."

Vivi was a black mage in FFIX, searching for his identity.

  
___

__

"Steiner ran to the scene with Beatrix"

Steiner is the Lord of the Knights of Pluto. He watches over Garnet, as does General Beatrix. The two share a love interest.

___

__

"Jeez, can't we have one normal production?" 

Every Tantalus performance seemed to be disrupted. The first time was the kidnapping of Garnet, and the second time was Zidane's triumphant return to Garnet.

___

__

"Zidane, that time me and Steiner interfered with your play... well, that was the best time of my life." 

During Tantulus' first production, Steiner chased Zidane onto the stage with Garnet, and they had to adlib some of the lines. Funniest part of the game.

___

__

"How did you sneak by ol' Rusty?"

Rusty was Zidane's nickname for Steiner, because of all the metal he wore was a bit rusty.

___

__

"I could just summon Ramuh!"

One of Garnet's first Eidolons. Ramuh has the power of electricity.

___

__

"You've sacrificed so much to be where you are today!"

Garnet had many bad experiences with her journey's with Zidane. Some include her mother (Brahne) extracting Eidolons from her body. Other's include the death of Brahne as well.

___

__

"The freedom, the independence... don't you want that?" 

When Zidane tried to kidnap Garnet, she actually wanted to be kidnapped. She enjoyed the freedom. She had with Zidane.

___

__

"I am controlling your moves from another place... another world..."

Kuja was talking to Zidane from the crystal world.

___

__

"Zidane... on that fateful day in the Iifa tree... you came back alive, and everyone thought I was dead..."

Zidane returned to Garnet, but Kuja never did... until now...

___

__

"So he brought the pendant to the Eidolon wall at Madain Sari."

A wall with many murals and descriptions of Eidolons. It's also the place where Zidane learns of Garnet's _real_ name, Sarah.

___

__

"You know, even though she tried to do so many evil things to me, I could still find it in my heart to forgive her."

Here, Garnet is talking about when her mother extracted her Eidolons, and when she sentenced her to death for betrayal.

___

__

"He could understand what it is like to think that you have lost a loved one"

Earlier in part 4, Zidane searched frantically for Garnet, hoping that Kuja had not gotten to her. The same fear Garnet felt when Zidane never returned from the Iifa tree until a while after the 'defeat' of Kuja.

___

__

"Garnet's one wish was to live a life of freedom, was it not?"

After all, she _wanted_ to be kidnapped.

___

__

"Do you... do you work on this theater ship?..."

A memory of Garnet by Zidane. This was the first time he met her.

___

__

"He expected to see a little girl and a woman floating on a tiny boat."

One of Garnet's earliest memories. She and her _real _mother (Brahne had adopted her) boarded a ship There was a violent storm, however, and her real mother didn't survive.

___

__

"He saw himself, throwing off a black robe, and Garnet leaning over her balcony."

During Zidane's reunification with Garnet after the Iifa tree...

___

__

"His skin turned a golden yellow color, and he exploded into the shape of a bird."

The legendary bird, Phoenix. This bird has the ability to bring people back to life, and in the end, it was what saved Garnet and Beatrix.

___

__

"A sparkle descended towards her body, and went into the open wound Blank (or Kuja) made with his dagger."

From Phoenix, the Eidolon that Kuja summoned.

___

__

"And I love you, Zidane. But... call me... Dagger."

During Garnet's first journey with Zidane, she needed an alias. So she picked up a weapon that Zidane had, and he told her it was a dagger. She changed her name to Dagger. This name indicates freedom for her, and the start of a new life.

****

Kuja's Encounters

The following list is shows how many times Kuja possessed Zidane, and Blank.

___

__

"This!" replied Zidane as he punched her in the stomach. The crowed gasped. Cornelia grew limp as Garnet noticed a strange smile on his face as he looked at her. She tried to smile back, when the silent crowd heard Ruby, lying in Zidane's arms, speak silently.

Zidane's 1st possession by Kuja.

___

__

"SHUT UP BLANK!" Zidane grabbed Blank by the neck and held it tight until his face turned red. 

Zidane's 2nd possession by Kuja.

___

__

"...I saw Kuj-..." Just then Zidane had a sudden seizure, and he was at a loss of words.

Zidane's 3rd possession by Kuja.

___

__

Zidane felt yet another sudden jolt in his body.

"Me too... Garnet... I don't know what happened." 

Zidane's 4th possession by Kuja.

___

__

"Next to her lay a bloodied dagger. Blood had covered the bed where she (Beatrix) lay."

Zidane's 5th possession by Kuja. He killed Beatrix here.

___

__

"Zidane lunged the sword towards himself."

Zidane's 6th possession by Kuja.

___

__

"Z..." Blood poured out of her mouth. She fell to the ground to reveal a murderer.

It was Blank.

Blank's 1st possession by Kuja, here he stabbed Garnet.

****

Terms

The following terms are terms taken from various FF games, mainly FFIX.

___

__

Knights of the Round

The most powerful summon of FFVII. 13 knights float towards the enemy, and they each strike it with tremendous force. Also very hard to find.

___

__

Eidolon

Garnet has these, they are like "summons" of FFVII or "guardian forces" of FFVIII.

___

__

Prima Vista

Tantalus' theater ship.

___

__

Kuja

The enemy of Final Fantasy IX. He was trapped with Zidane in the Iifa tree during the ending of Final Fantasy IX.

___

__

Iifa Tree

A mysterious tree on Gaia, also where the entrance to the crystal world is.

___

__

Gaia

The planet where the Final Fantasy IX characters live.

___

__

Crystal World

Where all of Garnet's memories were stored, and where Kuja resided in the end.


	8. 

Love's Lost Refrain: Forgotten Memory

Love's Lost Refrain: Forgotten Memory

(a sequal)

****

TEASER

A single boat floated down the Alexandria river. A man on the boat looked over to the shore. The castle that was once ruled by a king and queen no longer existed. In its place were tall buildings and houses. It had been over three centuries since the castle was destroyed. Everyone that existed in that time period no longer exists. All that is left are descendants.

The motor boat came to a sudden halt.

"This is where you come in," said a woman to the man. He was a professional scuba diver looking for lost artifacts. "Bring back something good," she said with a wink and a smile. "Citizens pay good money for our research."

"I won't let you down," the man replied with a smile. And with that, he fell backwards into the water. He swam deep into the blue ocean, admiring all of the sea creatures that dwell there. The river seemed to be empty. He looked beneath rocks, and behind seaweed. Nothing. 

He began to swim slowly towards the surface when he caught a shimmer of light out of the corner of his eye. Bewildered, he swam to that area in search for something of importance. Between two rocks, a chain was stuck. He removed one of the rocks and pulled the chain. To his surprise, something was attached to the chain. It was a pendant, about over three centuries old.

TO BE CONTINUED

Note: What I've done, is an attempt to make a fresh new Final Fantasy story that still relates to Final Fantasy IX. If all goes well, I plan to finish the sequel to Love's Lost Refrain: Forgotten Memory. What do you think? Oh, and you may not understand this unless you read Love's Lost Refrain. And if you _still_ don't understand it, then you'll have to wait until I finish the story! ^_^


End file.
